Project Description

A National Team Approach

Challenge

Early diagnosis and early intervention for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) can help improve future development, increase social integration and allow better academic success. Scientists and clinicians have been increasingly interested in early diagnostic tools to assess brain function and cerebral activity, known as electroencephalographic (EEG) and optical imaging (near-infrared spectroscopy, NIRS). Much of the interest in these tools is because they are low cost, non-invasive, and can assess brain function in very young children. These tools allow for the possibility to detect neurodevelopmental disorders earlier than behavioural markers.

Project Summary

KBHN researchers have already shown that EEG/NIRS signals can predict neurodevelopment and are useful in developing early brain function assessments. Even before birth, and up to the first year of a child’s life, EEG/NIRS scans can help shed light on learning capacities and cognitive development. Prior studies also show that EEG/NIRS may be used to predict outcomes such as memory, language, and social inhibition in children.
The KBHN Infant EEG-NIRS group has now set out to move EEG/NIRS assessments from research to clinical care to ensure the successful implementation of these methods. Their goal is to demonstrate the sensitivity and accuracy of EEG/NIRS to predict brain function and cognitive development. The group is engaging multidisciplinary experts in infant EEG and NIRS assessments, coast to coast.

Result

The project addressed a significant barrier to implementing EEG/NIRS in a clinical setting: the lack of meaningful and predictive baseline data from the general population. This research may eventually help to identify new treatment methods, allow psychotropic treatment surveillance in infants and reduce long-term care costs. These results will benefit all patients showing risk factors for abnormal neurological development across Canada.

Funding

Kids Brain Health Network – $100,000

Partners – $430,987

Team

Principal Investigator

Dr. Sarah Lippé, University of Montreal

Co-Principal Invesitgator

Anne Gallagher, CHU Sainte-Justine

Co-Investigators

Janet Werker, University of British Columbia
Laurel Trainor, McMaster University
Cecil Hahn, The Hospital for Sick Children
Amr El Shahed, The Hospital for Sick Children
Mathieu Dehaes, CHU Sainte-Justine
Gregory Lodygensky, CHU Sainte-Justine
Ala Birca, CHU Sainte-Justine
Karim Jerbi, CHU Sainte-Justine
Elsa Rossignol, CHU Sainte-Justine
Sebastien Jacquemont, CHU Sainte-Justine
Louis Schmidt, McMaster University

Collaborators

Andrea Lodi, Polytechnique Montreal
Alan Evans, McGill University

Partners

Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux
Centre intégré du réseau en neuro-développement de l’enfant (CIRENE)
Innovation Platform CHU Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Center